Computer vs Poker Player
A computer system called Polaris outperformed some of the world’s top players recently at a human-vs.-machine competition in Las Vegas. The score was computer 3, humans 2, with one draw. If you think it should be easier for a computer to win at poker than at the highly intellectual game of chess, think again. The human element makes poker a much more complex challenge. So far -Â the system plays a relatively simple game of two-person Texas Hold ’em. The next goal is to take on games of three or more players. Unlike Big Blue’s IBM supercomputer, the Canadian team used a cluster of five small, off-the-shelf computers linked in a network to prepare its strategy before the game. The system repeatedly played 8 billion games against itself to devise multiple strategies, each slightly different. Some strategies were more aggressive, others more passive. 
When it came time for the match, a laptop was sufficient to manage the system. The laptop, of course, showed the perfect poker face. During the game, Polaris analyzed its human opponent’s style of play and adjusted its strategy to meet it. For example, the system plays more aggressively to get the human to give up and fold his cards. (The computer pushes humans to make more decisions. More decisions mean more mistakes. Aggression raises errors). Now that we’ve lost -Â I’m itching for a rematch, Â said Jay Palansky, one of Polaris’ opponents.